End of Summer . . . First Day of School

We had Clare's best buds over on the last day of summer. What a "fun" day! (O.K. you K-ville girls! I don't have a perfect family -- "fun" here includes the major fights I had with my 13 -- ooops! -- 10 year old daughter. One because I wouldn't let her wear the itsy bitsy teeny weenie bikini she wanted to wear. Another because of the way she was doing her hair. (Am I turning into my mother??????) Actually, once it was all said and done, it was a fun day. The girls really are great. The boy in the background is one of their classmates acting like a monkey. Isn't he sweet?

Oh, the first day of school. This year is sooooo different! I'm not working outside the home now and I actually had a pretty peaceful day. Tom and I ran 7 this morning before the kids got up. There was no rushing around to pack lunch and brush teeth. They even made their beds and practiced their violins!! AND we got to the bus stop about 15 min. early (after walking 1/4 mile with Mia!)

** NOTE to the previous blog entry: Yes, it does seem like a brochure for a family vacation to New England. Sorry I didn't include info such as the fight the kids had during the first 1/2 hr. about what DVD they were going to watch, or the fight they were having as we were pulling into Hershey Park about the 2nd DVD they were going to watch (they didn't know we were there!) It doesn't include the constant battle with Clare about paddling the canoe -- she sure does know how to ruin a perfectly peaceful canoe ride. It doesn't include Tom and me hashing it out on the windy canoe ride because we weren't going anywhere! It doesn't include the multitude of "I'm bored"s from Daniel while we were at the lake -- he didn't read as much -- or the "Can I get that??" whenever we went shopping. It doesn't include Daniel complaining every time we went out to dinner, "I don't want Chinese!" or "Malaysian!" or "Italian!" And finally, it doesn't include me jumping out of a brief nap to help Clare puke into a grocery bag on the drive home. Better now?

August Fun

After a day at Hershey Park (a BIG surprise for the kids), we headed north to cooler weather. Ahhhhhhhh! What a relief!! We've been having such HOT weather at home, it was nice to be in the 40s and 50s at night and 60s and 70s during the day. My Aunt Trudy's cabin was the perfect home away from home -- no TV, no phone, no cell service, very little hot water (we didn't find the switch for the hot water heater until the last day.) Just peace. What more can you ask for??

The "pond" was fabulous! The water was warm even with the cooler air. The kids enjoyed jumping in right after we unpacked the car. They are such water bugs! Aren't these pictures gorgeous! Of course, a picture doesn't do it justice. You can't actually hear the loons, or the water, or the peace and quiet. It's impossible to get all in the picture, but I've tried.

Trudy has a windsurfing board for the kids to play on -- they tried to "surf", but kept falling off. I think it would be interesting to get them on a surfboard next year in CA!

The next day was spent outside playing with the neighbor kids and their water toys. The paddle boat really was funny when there was an adult and kid -- too much leaning to one side. I love the sky in these pictures. You see Tom wearing his pullover and the kids in their bathing suits -- they're nuts!

Skipping stones was Daniel's favorite activity. He got to the point where he could skip just about any rock, no matter the size or shape. I love this picture of him, Tom, and Clare.

The neighbors had a ski boat that could tow a tube with the kids. They've never done this before and thought it was the best thing ever! Daniel cracks us up with his enthusiasm. They were going pretty fast in this picture.

There were many wildflowers growing in front of the cabin. These are only a few next to the deck. The view was fantastic from here. I could sit and read or listen to the quiet for hours.

We headed over to the coast for the afternoon. It was a beautiful day to walk around, do some touristy shopping, look at the boats, eat some lobster and delicious ice cream.

Daniel was not a happy camper. I think he must have been tired and hungry, because anything and everything set him off. I took the picture anyway. :)

We like to have a family picture during our vacations -- this one was a self portrait. Isn't it pretty??? Can you see my hand in Tom's sunglasses? I love this family!

Starving, as usual, we had an early lobster and crab dinner at a terrific little restaurant by the harbor. The prices were reasonably cheap and we had fun playing with our food. I especially like the lobster bibs everyone had to wear! This is NOT the best picture of Tom -- typical. Clare loved her lobster and Daniel had king crab. Yes, Daniel did finish it all! What a piggy.

We found this great place that had homemade ice cream -- they either put it in waffle cones or on top of an amazing Belgian waffle. I went with the blueberry ice cream in the waffle cone -- to die for! Daniel had the double dip -- he couldn't finish the last little bit -- must be all that king crab. Clare and Tom went for the Belgian waffle thing. Tom thinks I can make these now -- especially since we're running so much. Maybe.

Canoeing was a favorite activity. The first time we went out was very windy and Tom and I had a tough time going anywhere without putting all we had into every stroke (a few words were tossed around as well!) The next time was much better -- just Clare and me on a quiet morning. The only thing that made us go back to base was a pesty biting fly. Tom took the kids out once with Clare at the helm. She loves to be in control -- she has a bad habit of complaining the whole time if she's not involved in some manner. What will happen when she's 13?

Our days were filled with reading. I think we finished 5 books altogether this trip. Clare really loved "reading on the beach." It did finally get a little warmer -- enough for us to take off the jackets and a little more.

On our way to the big city of Boston, we stopped by Concord and Lexington to visit the Minuteman National Park. It was very enlightening for all of us. The kids were into the picture thing this day -- Clare wanted her picture taken with every monument, rock, tree, etc. I only included a few fun ones. The following is the Old North Bridge where "the shot heard around the world" occurred.

We were able to stay downtown in Boston -- a great thing when there are only crazy drivers around! Our view was pretty good. We also had no problem finding a Dunkin' Donuts -- I think there was one on every corner, much more than Starbucks. The kids had fun counting them on our jaunts throughout the city.

We had the opportunity to take a harbor tour along with the trolley tour around the city. It was a great way to see more than the usual touristy stuff. It was windy and cold -- unfortunately for Clare who wore the short skirt. I didn't have to say, "I told you so."

Part of the harbor tour was a brief stop at the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides", and the USS Cassin. This was definitely Daniel's favorite part of our trip. After the harbor tour ended, we took the trolley over to the ships to do a little exploring. The kids had a blast looking at all the neat stuff on the ships. I love how they took turns giving each other a boost to look in the gun sights on the USS Cassin -- without any prompting from me or Tom. Too cute.

On our final vacation day, we walked the Freedom Trail. One of the first stops was the cemetary where Sam Adams', Paul Revere's, and Ben Franklin's family was buried. Clare was hesitant to step close to any of the graves -- she didn't want to step on anyone. :)

We had fun at Faneuil Hall -- the heart of tourist activity in Boston (and the only word we've found that rhymes with "Daniel"!) During lunchtime there are many street entertainers in this area. The food at Quincy Hall was very diverse -- a little something for everyone -- much like the many international people that visit here everyday. I could sit and watch the people all day.

Paul Revere's house is the oldest house in Boston. Daniel said he didn't think it looked very old. :) Clare wasn't all that impressed either. We didn't tour inside because you had to pay a pretty penny. Oh well.

The Old North Church was one of our favorite spots. We heard a great speech here about that night and the myths and truths surrounding the story. It was a nice ending to a wonderful trip.